Deleting large folders with multiple thousands of files using Windows Explorer can take a very long time.
Command prompt usually provides faster results, but depending on what command(s) were used it can still take quite a long time. After some experimenting, I found that the following way is the fastest one:
- Open command prompt (cmd.exe) and navigate to the folder in question.
- Run the following two commands:
- DEL /F/Q/S folder_to_delete > nul
Deletes all files - RMDIR /Q/S folder_to_delete
Deletes remaining folder structure.
- DEL /F/Q/S folder_to_delete > nul
i tried RMDIR /Q/S folder_to_delete without doing DEL /F/Q/S folder_to_delete > nul and it felt as fast as with Del.
i am not sure but is that actually required???
Okay, Thanks for the response.
I was trying to remove the files to restore some space in my HDD as it got full due to Apple/iPhone Backups.
Thanks for the command. May I know if is this deleted completely or if it goes to Recycle bin? If yes, how to delete it completely without sending it to Recycle bin (like Shif+Del)?
Awaiting your answer.
Thanks,
M S Ali
Deleting from the command line will not send files to Recycle Bin. However, this is not a secure deletion and files in many cases can still be recovered with third-party file recovery software.